In an internal email to managers, e-commerce firm Snapdeal has asked to “right-size” their teams to cut cost drastically. According to a report by ET, the company move will affect nearly 30% of the workforce and will include full-time and contractual workers. 

According to the report, the downsizing will impact 1000 employees directly employed with the company while 5000 contractual staff employed at its logistics arm Vulcan Express. 

Snapdeal has already started the lay-off process, with staff being let go in tranches of 40-50 persons. In February 2016, the e-commerce company had laid off at least 200 employees, said the report. 

The e-commerce industry is fighting slow growth and investors are also unwilling to invest afresh in businesses. 

Jasper Infotech, which owns and operates Snapdeal, last raised funds in August 2016 at a valuation of $6.5 billion.

In various media publications, Snapdeal gave a standard response. "On our journey towards profitability, it is imperative that we continue to drive efficiency in our business, which enables us to pass on the value to our consumers and sellers. As in the past, and like all good companies do, we will continue to assess resource allocation in furtherance of our goals of enhancing customer and seller experience while driving high-quality growth," the company representative wrote.

In February 2016, Snapdeal had put over 200 employees on a Performance Improvement Program and eventually let go of the additional staff.

Jasper Infotech employs about 10,000 people across all operations, including the e-commerce marketplace Snapdeal, payments platform FreeCharge and logistics and supply chain arm Vulcan Express.